ABSTRACT
This book has presented a theory of organization and processing in long-term event memory. The theory of reconstructive memory has been presented as a model of (1) conceptual memory, (2) long-term memory for events, (3) question answering, (4) data base organization for large amounts of interrelated facts, and (5) intelligent fact retrieval. As a model of event memory in people, CYRUS raises interesting issues in psychology. As a conceptual memory, it suggests what the memories in intelligent systems will have to look like. As a natural-language fact retrieval system, it has implications for information retrieval and data base management. Each of the areas of memory organization, retrieval from memory, and memory update addressed in this report has been studied individually in the past by researchers in computer science and psychology. This work is novel in addressing problems in each of these areas simultaneously. In this chapter, CYRUS’ importance and relationship to the fields of psychology, artificial intelligence, and computer science are discussed, and conclusions that can be drawn from the research are presented. Related work in each field is also examined.
